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Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society |
A project of
Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society
P.O. Box 901
Livermore, CA 94551
©1990 Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society
Project Leader:
Beverly Schell Ales
Survey staff:
Margaret Fazio
Marilyn and Tom Fullam
Billy and Lorraine Green
Marge Harter
Lisa Newby
Art Skinner
Map Compiler:
Clarence Parkison
Editors:
George and Harriet Anderson
January, 1990
Web Editor:
George Anderson
November 1996
This Web publication is derived from the L-AGS book, "Cemeteries of Pleasanton and Dublin, California." The book contains all of the the data presented in this Web publication, plus photographs of historic gravestones, maps locating the sections and rows in the cemeteries, and reproductions of the fourteen historic plaques honoring pioneers buried in the Dublin Cemetery. The book is still available.
A new inventory of the Dublin Cemetery, with photographs of all gravestones, was carried out in August 2009 by L-AGS member Emily Johnson Bailey, and published online at:
2009 Transcription of Dublin Pioneer Cemetery by Emily J. BaileyPleasanton Memorial Gardens Cemetery
St. Augustine's Catholic Cemetery
Dublin Cemetery
Records of the Graham Mortuary, Pleasanton, 1904-1923
Nineteen fifty-eight. I was just twelve years old that summer. Our family had taken a trip to the gold country of the western Sierra Nevada Mountains to visit one of those historical towns that preserve the rich past of California's gold rush era. What I discovered there has continued to hold my interest to this day - a cemetery of California's immigrants, founders and commoners.
As a young boy, I was completely fascinated by the mysteries hidden in the names, dates, and epitaphs etched into the hard stone of the grave markers. The stories found there were those of the men, women and children who lived and died during those hard times. They were the stories of death from mine accidents, diseases, and falls from horses and wagons. These stories were lovingly told in the few lines of prose carved into a simple piece of wood or a more elaborate piece of marble or granite.
Our valley's history is not disconnected from that of the goldfields, for we have in this area's past, men and women who also came to California to find their riches in the mines of the Sierra Nevada. Though some prospered not from their own labor in the mines but from providing goods and services to those who did, this in no way diminishes their involvement in that part of California's history.
The history of our valley starts with Agostin Bernal and Antonio Sunol, whose families are represented among the gravestones in the two cemeteries serving the town of Pleasanton. This history then weaves through the lives and families of the Castersons, the Oxsens, the Andrades, the Schweens, and many others, and includes at least one "49-er" in the person of Charles Garthwaite.
Since my first visit to a historical cemetery so many years ago, I've continued to be interested in the stories of people's lives that can be found among the grave markers. Whether it's been in California, Costa Rica, or Ireland, I've always taken the time to stroll through cemeteries I've come across in my travels.
With the production of this booklet, the Livermore-Amador Genealogical Society invites you to explore the grand history of the communities of Pleasanton and Dublin. You are encouraged to take the time to find and read the epitaphs of Charlie Bilz, Mamie Andrade, and Armida Lane. This booklet is meant to be your guide as you search through the cemeteries for traces of your own family's history or that of another founding family of Pleasanton and Dublin.
Paul Ferreira is Supervising Naturalist with the East Bay Regional Park District, assigned to Sunol Regional Wilderness, ten miles south of Pleasanton.
Mr. Ferreira leads groups of interested persons through the cemeteries of Pleasanton, lecturing on the history of the area and the people. During these lectures he also gives instructions on tombstone rubbing. Participants are encouraged to do their own rubbings. The Society is grateful for Mr. Ferreira's interest and we thank him for his preface to "Cemeteries of Pleasanton and Dublin."